Enhanced Aerodynamic Performance of a Two-Dimensional Airfoil Using Moving Boundaries

Abstract

The effects of moving boundary conditions on the aerodynamic performance of a two-dimensional NACA 0012 airfoil at different angles of attack (α) in a uniform freestream at a Reynolds number of 10,000 are numerically studied. The moving boundary conditions are motivated by inviscid potential flow around the airfoil, which also satisfies the viscous equations of motion. In this study, the wall is moved at the slip velocity of the inviscid flow, or a fraction of it. These prescribed moving boundary conditions are shown to suppress vortex shedding, thus allowing the drag to go toward zero and the lift coefficient toward 2πα over a wide range of angles of attack (α≤20°) even in the separated flow regime. It is shown that moving boundary conditions are effective over a wide range of their strengths with respect to the overall power required (required to overcome aerodynamic drag and move the airfoil boundary). This power is shown to attain a minimum near the inviscid flow moving boundary condition, which is around 10% or less of the power required for the stationary boundary condition. Finally, the effectiveness of the moving boundary conditions is demonstrated for fully turbulent flow regimes at Re=6 million as well.